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Foz do Iguaçu is a city in the far west of Paraná state in southern Brazil, on the borders with Argentina and Paraguay, famous as the gateway to Iguaçu Falls, one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, and to the giant Itaipu Dam. It lies about 650 km west of the state capital, Curitiba.
The city takes its name from the mouth of the Iguaçu River, where it flows into the Paraná River at the Triple Frontier, and its name comes from the Guarani for big water. Home to some 285,000 people from more than 70 ethnic groups, it forms a cross-border urban area with Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and Puerto Iguazú in Argentina.
Give at least a full day to the Brazilian side of the falls in Iguaçu National Park, and another to the Argentine side for the Devil's Throat up close. Then tour the Itaipu Dam, visit the bird park, the Buddhist temple and the mosque, and watch the sunset at the Triple Frontier Landmark.
Iguaçu Falls, on the Iguaçu River at the border of Brazil and Argentina near Foz do Iguaçu, are a set of about 275 waterfalls spread over 2.7 km, some up to 82 m high. They were chosen among the New Seven Wonders of Nature, and two thirds of the falls lie on the Argentine side.
Devil's Throat is the greatest of the Iguaçu Falls and the drop with the largest flow, upstream from Foz do Iguaçu on the border of Brazil and Argentina. It forms a U-shaped chasm about 150 m wide and 80 m high, and its roaring curtain of water can be seen from both countries.
Iguaçu National Park protects the Brazilian side of Iguaçu Falls, 17 km from the centre of Foz do Iguaçu, with about 170,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest. Created on 10 January 1939 and listed by UNESCO in 1986, it adjoins Argentina's park to protect some 250,000 hectares in all.
Iguazú National Park in Argentina, across the river from Foz do Iguaçu, holds two thirds of the Iguaçu Falls. Created in 1934 to protect them and the forest around them, it covers about 67,000 hectares in the north of Misiones province, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
Itaipu Dam is a binational hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay, just north of Foz do Iguaçu. Built from 1975 to 1982, it was the largest dam in the world until China's Three Gorges, and it is still among the world's top power plants. Its name means sounding stone.
Itaipu Lake is the reservoir of the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil-Paraguay border, stretching up the Paraná River from Foz do Iguaçu towards Guaíra over some 1,350 km². Its filling in 1982 drowned the Sete Quedas falls, once among the most striking natural sights on Earth, and it holds 66 islands.
Friendship Bridge is an arch bridge over the Paraná River linking Foz do Iguaçu with Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Begun in 1959, it opened to traffic on 27 March 1965 in the presence of presidents Castelo Branco and Alfredo Stroessner, and the BR-277 highway ends at its Brazilian end.
Tancredo Neves Bridge crosses the Iguaçu River between Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and Puerto Iguazú in Argentina, 15 km below the falls. Opened on 29 November 1985 by presidents José Sarney and Raúl Alfonsín, it is 489 m long with a 220 m central span, and it is the route to the Argentine side.
Triple Frontier Landmark in Foz do Iguaçu stands where the Iguaçu River flows into the Paraná River, the point where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet. From the Brazilian bank you look across the rivers to the other two nations, and over 900,000 people live around this border.
Parque das Aves is a bird park in Foz do Iguaçu beside Iguaçu National Park, opened on 7 October 1994 by the biologists Anna Croukamp and Dennis Croukamp. Its 16 hectares of native forest hold about 1,500 animals of 140 species, many from the Atlantic Forest, along 1,300 m of trails and aviaries.
Chen Tien Buddhist Temple in Foz do Iguaçu was built in 1996 by Chinese communities of the Triple Frontier. Its grounds hold a 7 m seated Buddha, a reclining Buddha and a bronze Amitabha among about 120 statues, and the two-storey main hall covers over 2,000 m². Entry is free.
Omar Ibn Al-Khatab Mosque is a Sunni mosque in Foz do Iguaçu, opened on 23 March 1983 by the city's Arab community. Its white design was inspired by the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, its dome was painted gold in 2001, and its 15 m minarets can be seen from afar. It is open to visitors.
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